Cr O’Keeffe was elected for another one-year term as mayor at a council meeting on Tuesday night, with the vote 5-4, after Cr Seema Abdullah was also nominated for the role.
Cr Anthony Brophy was elected as deputy mayor unopposed.
“I was there during the really challenging times of COVID and I want to drive the community through the recovery,” Cr O’Keeffe said.
“It’s a very important time and I think as a community we need to understand that the best COVID recovery is shopping local.’’
The Shepparton Sports Stadium, Shepparton Bypass and securing additional funding for health and education are among the projects Cr O’Keeffe has prioritised as the federal and state election cycles approach next year.
She also said she wanted to focus on economic opportunities for Shepparton as the state continued to open up.
She said residents shopping locally would be key to the city’s recovery.
“There’s so many ways we can attract people to come and enjoy our hospitality, shop local, and the things that will help us come out of this incredibly difficult time,” she said.
“But shopping local is going to be one of the biggest COVID recoveries from our community.”
Cr Brophy said he was “incredibly humbled” to be elected deputy mayor, and that he was looking forward to supporting the mayor for the next 12 months.
“We do a lot of planning a long way out, but next year is about action,” he said.
“Everybody has been waiting for two years to do so many things, so everything from concerts to events to agricultural shows.
“We’re looking forward to next year.”
Cr O’Keeffe said she was grateful for her connections in the community and her open-door policy was still in place for all community members.
“I think that’s so important for the community to know that I am there for them in every single way that they need me to be,” she said.
“My biggest aspiration is to make a difference and continue to really lobby for our region.”
